System and Method for Transmitting Electronic Plumbing Fixture Data and Health Data to a User Device for Transmission Over a Network

ABSTRACT

An EPF digital record transmission system may be configured to transmit an EPF digital record from an EPF device to a user device. The user device may then transmit the EPF digital record to a host server for storage and processing. The EPF device may also be configured to transmit health data and the user device may be configured to analyze one or both of the health data and the EPF digital record and present a health recommendation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/415,568, filed on May 17, 2019 and entitled “System And Method ForTransmitting Electronic Plumbing Fixture Data And Health Data To A UserDevice For Transmission Over A Network,” which claims priority toprovisional application U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/672,839 filed on May 17, 2018, both of which are incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Electronic plumbing fixtures and fittings (EPFs) are increasingly usedin bathrooms and other plumbing installations. EPFs can monitor plumbingdevices' usage rates and operating conditions and can enable systemoperators to better predict when a specific device may need moremaintenance. EPFs can also record information that may be useful toother users of the plumbing devices. For these features to besuccessfully implemented, a reliable interface for retrievinginformation from the EPFs must be established.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure presents new and innovative systems and methodsfor transmitting EPF digital records to a host server. In a firstaspect, an electronic plumbing fixture (EPF) is provided comprising ameasuring device, a processor, and a memory. The memory may beconfigured to store instructions that, when executed by the processorcause the processor to record EPF information with the measuring device,store the EPF information in an EPF digital record, detect a nearby userdevice configured to transmit the EPF digital record to a host server;and transmit the EPF digital record to the nearby user device along withrouting information that enables the nearby user device to transmit theEPF digital record to the host server.

In a second aspect according to the first aspect, the host server isfurther configured to merge the EPF digital record into an EPF databaseby identifying duplicated portions of the EPF digital record, whereinthe duplicated portions are portions of the EPF digital record alreadypresent in the EPF database, removing the duplicated portions from theEPF digital record prior to merging the EPF digital record into the EPFdatabase, identifying conflicting portions of the EPF digital record,wherein the conflicting portions are portions of the EPF digital recordthat conflict with data already present in the EPF database, andresolving any conflict between the conflicting portions and the dataalready present in the EPF database.

In a third aspect according to any of the previous aspects, the EPFinformation includes one or more of: a battery level of the EPF, a cyclecount for the EPF, a maintenance level for the EPF, usage data for theEPF, a water usage information for the EPF, and service information forthe EPF.

In a fourth aspect according to any of the previous aspects, the EPF isfurther configured to transmit user health data to the nearby userdevice.

In a fifth aspect according to the fourth aspect, the user health dataincludes one or more of a handwashing count and a bathroom usage count.

In a sixth aspect according to any of the previous aspects, the EPF islocated in an area with limited internet connectivity and the nearbyuser device is configured to transmit the EPF digital record to the hostserver after leaving the area with limited internet connectivity.

In a seventh aspect according to the sixth aspect, the area with limitedinternet connectivity is a bathroom.

In an eighth aspect according to the fourth and/or fifth aspects, thenearby user device is further configured to provide a health alert basedon the health data.

In a ninth aspect according to any of the previous aspects, the EPFfurther comprises one or more of an electronic faucet, an electronicflushometer, an electronic pipe fitting, an electronic flow measurementdevice, an electronic water closet flushometer, an electronic urinalflushometer, an electronic soap dispenser, an electronic paper toweldispenser, and an electronic hand dryer.

In a tenth aspect according to any of the previous aspects, the nearbyuser device includes one or more of a mobile phone, smart watch, fitnesstracker, laptop, or other personal computing device.

In an eleventh aspect according to any of the previous aspects, thelocation of the EPF is determined based on the location of the nearbyuser device.

In a twelfth aspect, a system is provided comprising an electronicplumbing fixture (EPF) configured to create an EPF digital record andtransmit the EPF digital record via a first communication interface, auser device configured to receive the EPF digital record from the EPFand transmit the EPF digital record via a second communicationinterface, and a host server configured to receive the EPF digitalrecord transmitted by the user device.

In a thirteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect, the host serveris further configured to merge the EPF digital record into an EPFdatabase by identifying duplicated portions of the EPF digital record,wherein the duplicated portions are portions of the EPF digital recordalready present in the EPF database, removing the duplicated portionsfrom the EPF digital record prior to merging the EPF digital record intothe EPF database, identifying conflicting portions of the EPF digitalrecord, wherein the conflicting portions are portions of the EPF digitalrecord that conflict with data already present in the EPF database, andresolving any conflict between the conflicting portions and the dataalready present in the EPF database.

In a fourteenth aspect according to one or both of the twelfth andthirteenth aspects, the EPF digital record includes one or more of: abattery level of the EPF, a cycle count for the EPF, a maintenance levelfor the EPF, usage data for the EPF, a water usage information for theEPF, and service information for the EPF.

In a fifteenth aspect according to any of the twelfth to fourteenthaspects, the user device is further configured to receive user healthdata from the EPF.

In a sixteenth aspect according to any of the twelfth to fifteenthaspects, the EPF is located in an area with limited internetconnectivity and the user device is configured to transmit the EPFdigital record to the host server after leaving the area with limitedinternet connectivity.

In a seventeenth aspect according to the sixteenth aspect, the area withlimited internet connectivity is a bathroom.

In an eighteenth aspect according to the fifteenth aspect, the userdevice is further configured to provide a health recommendation based onthe health data.

In a nineteenth aspect according to any of the twelfth to eighteenthaspects, the EPF comprises one or more of an electronic faucet, anelectronic flushometer, an electronic pipe fitting, an electronic flowmeasurement device, an electronic water closet flushometer, anelectronic urinal flushometer, an electronic soap dispenser, anelectronic paper towel dispenser, and an electronic hand dryer.

In a twentieth aspect according to any of the twelfth to nineteenthaspects, the location of the EPF is determined based on the location ofthe user device.

The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and,in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the figures anddescription. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in thespecification has been principally selected for readability andinstructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the inventivesubject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an EPF digital record upload operation according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an EPF digital record according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an example method according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a health alert according to an example embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

EPFs may be connected to many different devices in a typical plumbinginstallation. For example, EPFs may be connected to a water closet orurinal flush valve, a sink faucet, a pipe valve, or a coupler. EPFs mayalso be connected to other non-plumbing devices that are typically usedin conjunction with plumbing installations, such as a soap dispenser ora hand dryer. An EPF may monitor usage or operating information for thedevices the EPF connects to. For example, an electronic flushometer maymonitor the number of times the water closet has been flushed in a givenperiod, as well as information associated with each usage (e.g., date,time, amount of water used). Other monitored information may include thetemperature of the water flowing through a pipe fitting or theparameters of a control unit associated with a fitting.

EPFs may also enable additional features, such as automatically flushinga water closet or dispensing soap. Some of these features may alsoenable greater control for plumbing system operators by, for example,enabling them to adjust the amount of water used in each flush or theamount of soap dispensed with each use. Other additional features mayinclude purging the lines of a plumbing installation using a remote“line purge” function and remote monitoring of the information recordedby the EPFs.

In order to properly receive and utilize this information, however, theEPFs must have a reliable way to transmit the information to a centrallocation. Typical methods of communicating with EPFs include wirelessinterfaces such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. But these methods are not alwaysreliable. For example, Wi-Fi networks have a limited range that may notextend to cover a bathroom or other plumbing installation. Bluetoothconnections also have a limited range that makes regular collectiontedious or impractical.

As described in the examples below, one way to solve these problems isto use the smartphones and other user devices of individuals entering anarea near the EPFs to collect and asynchronously upload the datacollected by the EPFs to a server that can analyze or present thecollected EPF data when the smartphone connects to the Internet.Typically, using such user devices to transport and upload this datarequires user permission. One way to incentivize users to agree toperform this operation is to tie it to a user benefit, including healthmonitoring. EPF data can include information that may be useful incertain health or other applications. Therefore, it may be useful tooffer access to EPF-enabled health data in exchange for also uploadingthe data to a central server. This health data may include informationsuch as which EPF devices a user has interacted with, the time spentutilizing each EPF device, and when each EPF device was used. Forexample, the health data may include time spent washing hands, waterusage during handwashing, soap usage during handwashing, time of day fora handwashing event, time spent in a water closet, time of day for awater closet usage, time spent at a urinal, and time of day for a urinalusage. In certain embodiments, the custodian or owner of the health datamay include an entity who owns or provides the health app 108, aclinician or administrator enforcing a handwashing protocol, a healthprovider, or the individual user associated with the user device 102,206.

For example, individuals or organizations may be interested inmonitoring hand washing behavior. Such organizations may includehealthcare companies, schools, restaurants or any other organizationwith an interest in encouraging their employees to follow a properhand-washing protocol. In one example, a restaurant may want to ensurethat employees involved in handling food wash their hands beforereturning to work in the kitchen. In another example, a hospital maywant to ensure that employees such as doctors or nurses wash their handswhen moving from patient to patient or after visiting a patient with acontagious ailment. In another example, individuals may be interested intracking one or more health behaviors, including handwashing, urinationfrequency, and bowel movement frequency. In exchange for providing theEPF data and the health data to perform the above-described functions,users may agree to collect and asynchronously upload the data collectedby the EPFs to a server that can analyze or present the collected EPFdata when their smartphone connects to the Internet.

In other words, in order to enable an EPF device to deliver EPF data toa host server, the EPF device may handshake with one or more userdevices. After handshaking, the user device may download the data fromthe EPF device prior to the user walking away from the EPF device. Afterwalking away, during a regular data transmission of the user device, theEPF data may be “muled” onto the transmission and sent along with theregular data transmission to the host server. Once on the host serverand in the cloud, the regular data transmission may be unbundled by apre-arranged sharing system that unbundles the EPF data and ships it tothe host server. The EPF data may then be received at the host serverand assembled to create an individual record for an EPF device. Theindividual record may then be routed to an owner app associated with theEPF device in order to display the monitored parameters.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system 100 according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes a userdevice 102, an EPF device 114, a network 128, a host server 130, an EPFterminal 138, and an EPF database 146. The user device 102 includes aCPU 104, a first communication interface 110, a second communicationinterface 112, and a memory 106 containing a health app 108. The EPFdevice 114 includes a CPU 116, measuring devices 118, 120, acommunication interface 126, and a memory 122 containing an EPF digitalrecord 124. The EPF device 114 is associated with a plumbinginstallation 152 and is connected via the communication interface 126 tothe first communication interface 110 of the user device 102. The hostserver 130 includes a memory 132, a CPU 134, and a communicationinterface 136. The host server 130 is connected to the user device 102via the network 128. The host server 130 is also connected to the EPFterminal 138, which contains a CPU 140, a memory 142, and an EPFdashboard 144. The host server 130 is further connected to the EPFdatabase 146 containing EPF digital records 148, 150.

The EPF device 114 may be configured to measure and record informationassociated with one or more fixtures, fittings, or other devices in theplumbing installation 152. For example, a fixture may include any vesselassociated with the plumbing installation 152, including a water closet,a urinal, and a sink basin. A fitting may include an endpoint deliverydevice associated with the plumbing installation 152, including aflushometer, electronic faucet, manual faucet, electronic soapdispenser, electronic hand dryer, and electronic paper towel dispenser.The plumbing installation 152 may include a bathroom, kitchen, or anyother area that would benefit from improved plumbing monitoring. The EPFdevice 114 may record the information with the measuring devices 118,120 and these measuring devices may measure different aspects of theplumbing installation 152. For example, measuring device 118 may measurethe flowrate through a fitting while measuring device 120 measures thewater temperature. The measuring devices 118, 120 may also measure thepressure, supply levels, battery level, service information, or otherinformation. Although two measuring devices 118, 120 are depicted, otherembodiments of the system 100 may include more or fewer measuringdevices. After the measuring devices 118, 120 detect informationregarding the plumbing installation 152, the EPF device 114 may storethe information in an EPF digital record 124, which may be stored in thememory 122. Over time, the EPF device 114 may measure and collectmultiple pieces of information on the plumbing installation 152.Subsequent measurements may be added to the EPF digital record 124 withan indication of the date and time of the measurement and recording. TheEPF device 114 may use the communication interface 126 to transmit acopy of the EPF digital record 124 to the user device 102 as describedfurther below. To perform these tasks, the memory 122 may contain aseries of instructions which, when executed by the CPU 116, cause theCPU 116 to perform one or more of the above steps. The EPF device 114may be implemented as one or more of an electronic faucet, an electronicflushometer, an electronic pipe fitting, an electronic flow measurementdevice, an electronic water closet flushometer, an electronic urinalflushometer, an electronic soap dispenser, an electronic paper toweldispenser, and an electronic hand dryer.

The user device 102 may receive the EPF digital record 124 from the EPFdevice 114 and store the EPF digital record 124 in the memory 106. Theuser device 102 may process the EPF digital record 124 with the healthapp 108 to extract health data from the EPF digital record 124associated with the user. This health data may subsequently be used togenerate health recommendations. Alternatively, the EPF device 114 mayseparately transmit health data to the user device 102. As describedabove, the first communication interface 110 may be used to communicatewith the EPF device 114. The first communication interface 110 may beimplemented as one or more of a Wi-Fi connection, a Bluetoothconnection, a ZigBee connection, or any other wired or wirelesscommunication interface. The second communication interface 112 may beused to communicate with the network 128 and may be implemented with oneor more wired or wireless communication interfaces as described above,including a cellular data connection. In some embodiments, the userdevice 102 may have an additional communication interface other than thecommunication interfaces 110, 112. In other embodiments, the user device102 may have only a single communication interface used to connect toboth the EPF device 114 and the network 128. For example, in someembodiments, the user device 102 may connect to the EPF device usingWi-Fi and subsequently connect to the network 128 using Wi-Fi. Toperform these tasks, the memory 106 may contain a series of instructionswhich, when executed by the CPU 104, cause the CPU 104 to perform one ormore of the above steps. The user device 102 may be implemented as oneor more of a smartphone, a smart watch, a fitness wearable, a laptop, atablet, or any other smart wearable or personal computing device.

The network 128 may receive an EPF digital record 124 from the userdevice 102 and route the EPF digital record 124 to the host server 130.In some embodiments, the network 128 may be the Internet or a localwired or wireless network. For example, in one embodiment the hostserver may be physically located far from the plumbing installation 152and the user device 102. In such an embodiment, the network 128 may bethe Internet to enable the user device 102 to transmit the EPF digitalrecord 124 over the distance to the host server 130. In otherembodiments, the host server 130 may be located near the plumbinginstallation 152, such as in the same building as the plumbinginstallation 152. In such embodiments, the network 128 may be a localnetwork within the building that the user device 102 connects to viaWi-Fi.

The host server 130 may be configured to receive the EPF digital record124 from the user device 102 via the network 128 and store the EPFdigital record in the EPF database 146. The host server may use acommunication interface 136, which may be a wired or wirelesscommunication interface. The host server 130 may be configured to detectduplicate information contained in the EPF digital record 124 that isalready present in the EPF database 146. For example, it may detectinformation contained in the EPF digital record 124 that is alreadypresent in either or both of the EPF digital records 148, 150. The hostserver 130 may remove the duplicate information from the EPF digitalrecord 124 and then store what remains of the EPF digital record 124 inthe EPF database 146. The host server 130 may also be configured todetect information that conflicts with information stored in the EPFdatabase 146, such as the information contained within the EPF digitalrecords 148, 150. The host server 130 may then correct or remove theconflicting information before adding the EPF digital record 124 to theEPF database 146. To perform these tasks, the memory 132 may contain aseries of instructions which, when executed by the CPU 134, cause theCPU 134 to perform one or more of the above steps. The host server 130may be implemented by one or more computing systems, including multiplecomputing systems in separate locations connected by a network such asthe network 128.

The EPF database 146 may be connected to the host server 130 directly asshown in FIG. 1, or may be connected through a network, such as thenetwork 128. The EPF database 146 may also be contained within the hostserver. For example, the host server 130 may be configured withsufficient storage to enable it to act as the EPF database 146.

The EPF terminal 138 may be configured to process and display the EPFdigital records 148, 150 contained within the EPF database 146. Forexample, the EPF terminal 138 may summarize the information containedwithin the EPF digital records to present a historical view of theusage, performance, and maintenance of the plumbing installation 152.Alternatively or additionally, the EPF terminal 138 may process anddisplay the EPF digital record 124 as it is received by the host server130.

The system 100 may be implemented as one or more computer systems. Forexample, the user device 102, the EPF device 114, the host server 130,and the EPF terminal 138 could be separate computer systems and the EPFdatabase could be implemented by more than one computer system. Inanother embodiment, the host server 130, EPF terminal 138, and EPFdatabase 146 may be implemented by the same computer system.

FIG. 2 depicts an EPF digital record upload operation 200 according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure. The operation 200includes an EPF area 220 and an external area 222. The EPF area 220includes multiple EPF devices, including an electronic water closetflushometer 202, an electronic urinal flushometer 204, an electronichand dryer 208, an electronic soap dispenser 212, and an electronicfaucet 210. The external area 222 includes a network 214, a host server216, and an EPF terminal 218. Both the EPF area 220 and the externalarea 222 include the user device 206, which moves between the two areas220, 222.

The EPF area 220 may be any area that includes EPF devices. As depictedin FIG. 2, the EPF area 220 may be a bathroom, or may be any other areawith EPF devices. In some implementations, the EPF area 220 may havelimited network connectivity. For example, the EPF area 220 may belocated in a building with wireless network coverage, but may be in apart of the building that does not receive a signal strong enough toreliably use the network. This may be typical of bathrooms and otherareas with EPF devices. In other embodiments, the EPF area 220 may haveacceptable network connectivity, but the network may not be desirablefor other reasons, such as the network being run by an entity other thanthe plumbing system's operator, or because the network's configurationsettings change regularly and it is undesirable to regularly update thechanging settings. The network may also be incompatible with one or moreof the EPF devices, or the network operator may not want to connect theEPF devices to the network because of network congestion concerns. Eachof these reasons may make it desirable to use alternative datatransmission techniques.

The EPF devices 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may measure one or more piecesof information relating to the operation, usage, and maintenance oftheir associated fittings and fixtures. For example, the EPF devices202, 204, 208, 210, 212, may measure one or more of a cycle count for afitting or fixture, maintenance information for a fitting or fixture, abattery level for one or more fittings or fixtures, water usageinformation for a fitting or fixture, water usage associated with afitting or fixture, and service information for a fitting or fixture asdescribed in greater detail below. The EPF devices 202, 204, 208, 210,212 may store the measured information in an EPF digital record 124 in amemory 122.

The user device 206 may include any device discussed above in connectionwith user device 102. Upon entering the EPF area 220, the user device206 may detect one or more EPF devices 202, 204, 208, 210, 212. Forexample, as depicted, the EPF devices 204, 208, 210 may broadcastwireless signals such as Wi-Fi spectrum signals that indicate that theEPF devices 204, 208, 210 are capable of connecting to the user device206 and exchanging information with the user device 206. When the userdevice 206 detects these signals, it may connect to the EPF devices 204,208, 210 broadcasting the signals. The EPF devices 204, 208, 210 maythen determine whether the user device has been opted into a program toallow the EPF devices 204, 208, 210 to transmit EPF digital records 124to the user device 206. For example, the user device 206 may haveinstalled a health app 108 that is configured to utilize informationmeasured by the EPF devices 204, 208, 210 to record health activityand/or provide health recommendations. The health app 108 may beconfigured, for example to measure the user's handwashing activities orthe number of times they urinate or have a bowel movement. The healthapp 108 may use information measured by the electronic faucet 210, theelectronic soap dispenser 212, or the electronic hand dryer 208 todetermine whether and when a user has washed their hands. The health app108 may also use the information from the electronic water closetflushometer 202 and the electronic urinal flushometer 204 to determinewhether and when a user has urinated. The health app 108 may use theinformation received from the EPF device to generate a healthrecommendation. For example, if the health app 108 determines that auser has used the restroom and has not washed their hands, the healthapp 108 may generate and present a recommendation that the user washtheir hands. Similarly, the health app 108 may use the frequency andregularity of a user's urination to suggest that the user drink morefluid or alter their diet, based upon the appropriate bio background ofthe individual subscriber. In other implementations, the health app 108may be configured to ensure the user follows a particular hand washingprotocol (e.g., a minimum amount of time spent scrubbing with soap). Insuch an implementation, the health app 108 may be configured to presenta recommendation that the user change their hand washing (or wash theirhands again) in order to properly comply with the hand washing protocol.

If the EPF devices 204, 208, 210 determine that the user device 206 hasthe health app 108 and is enrolled in receiving EPF digital records 124,the EPF device 204, 208, 210 may proceed to transmit the EPF digitalrecord 124 coupled with the health data to the user device 206. Afterreceiving the EPF digital record 124 and the health data, the health app108 may process the received EPF digital record 124 and health data asdescribed above. In some examples, the health data may not be separatelytransmitted to the user device 206, but may instead be included as aportion of the EPF digital record 124. For example, the health data maysimply be a subset of the EPF digital record 124 that pertains to theuses of the EPF devices 204, 208, 210 that correspond to the user. Insuch an implementation, the health data may be extracted from the EPFdigital record 124 and stored separately on the user device 206 beforeprocessing by the health app 108 as described above. The user device 206may also store a copy of the EPF digital record 124 in a memory, such asmemory 106. Although depicted as only receiving EPF digital records 124from the electronic urinal flushometer 204, the electronic faucet 210,and the electronic hand dryer 208, the other devices including theelectronic water closet flushometer 202 and the electronic soapdispenser 212 may also be configured to transmit EPF digital records 124to the user device 206.

Later, the user device 206 may leave the EPF area 220 and eventuallyenter the external area 222. As mentioned above, the external area 222may include a host server 216, a network 214, and an EPF terminal 218.These may be implemented by the host server 130, the network 128, andthe EPF terminal 138, respectively. After entering the external area,the user device 206 may connect to the host server 216 via the network214. The network 214 may be implemented as a wired or wirelessconnection and may be a local network or may include a connection overan external network, such as the Internet. The user device 205 mayconnect to the network 214 using communication interface 112. In someembodiments, the network 214 may be available within the same buildingas the EPF area 220, such as a Wi-Fi network hosted by the entity orbusiness residing in the same building as the EPF area. In otherembodiments, the network 214 may be independent of the EPF area 220 andany building containing it. For example, the network 214 could be thecellular network that the user device connects to after leaving the EPFarea. The network 214 could also be the user's home Wi-Fi network. Inother embodiments, although the user device 206 is depicted as leavingthe EPF area 220, the user device may connect to the network 214 whilewithin the EPF area 220. For example, the network 214 may be a cellulardata network that the user device 206 is connected to when it enters theEPF area 220 and remains connected to while in the EPF area 220.

Upon connecting to the host server 216 via the network 128, the userdevice 206 may transmit the EPF digital record 124 to the host server216. For example, the user device 206 may separate the received EPFdigital record 124 from the received health data and only upload the EPFdigital record 124. As described above, the health data may also becopied from the EPF digital record 124 and stored on the user device 206prior to upload to the host server 216. After receiving the EPF digitalrecord 124, the host server 216 may check the EPF digital record 124 forany duplicates or conflicts with an EPF database 146 (not shown in FIG.2). The host server 216 may then reconcile any duplicates or conflictsand store the EPF digital record 124 in the EPF database 146.

Additionally, the host server 216 may be configured to display storedEPF information, such as EPF usage, operation, and maintenanceinformation on a terminal such as the EPF terminal 218 connected to thehost server 216. The EPF terminal 218 may be a separate computer systemattached to the host server 216 over a network such as the network 214,or it may be a program configured to run on the same computer system asthe host server 216. Similarly, the EPF database 146 may be a separatecomputer system or may be configured to run on the same machine as thehost server 216. The EPF terminal 218 may be configured with a userinterface that displays the EPF information. For example, the EPFterminal 218 may display water usage metrics over different timeintervals, such as the last day, week, month, and year. It may displaysimilar statistics for other types of usage, such as paper towel usage,energy usage, and soap usage. The EPF terminal 218 may also displaymaintenance information, such as an indication of which plumbing devicesare most in need of service and may flag any devices that are inimmediate need of service. For example, the EPF terminal 218 may receiveinformation stating that the electronic soap dispenser 212 is about torun out of soap and maintenance is needed to refill the electronic soapdispenser 212. Likewise, the EPF terminal 218 may determine that theelectronic water closet flushometer 202 has not been serviced for alength of time greater than a typical servicing period and thus that theelectronic water closet flushometer 202 is in need of maintenance. Inthis way, the EPF terminal 218 may enable plumbing system operators toact on the information gathered by the EPF devices 114 and transmittedwithin the EPF digital record 124.

FIG. 3 depicts an EPF digital record 302 according to an exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. The EPF digital record 302 mayrepresent an EPF digital record 124 created by an EPF device 114 aftermeasuring one or more items of EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312,314 in a plumbing system 152, or may represent an EPF Digital Record148, 150 stored on a host server 130, 216. The EPF digital record 302includes multiple items of EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314,316, 318 including an EPF battery level 304, a cycle count 306,maintenance information 308, water usage information 310, usage data312, service information 314, an EPF device identification 316, and anEPF device location identification 318. The EPF battery level 304 mayinclude an indication of the battery level of one or more EPF devices114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212. For example, the battery level 304 mayinclude a battery level measurement of the EPF device 114, 202, 204,208, 210, 212 that created the EPF digital record 302. The cycle count306 may include a count of the number of times one or more electronicplumbing or other electronic devices 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 in aplumbing system 152 has been used. The maintenance information 308 mayinclude one or more indications of the status of an EPF device 114, 202,204, 208, 210, 212 in the plumbing system 152. The water usageinformation 310 may include a measurement of the water usage associatedwith an electronic plumbing device in the plumbing system 152. The waterusage may be stored as a total water usage, or as a log of water usageevents that records the time and total water used during each event. Theusage data 312 may include information on the usage of a plumbing orother device in the plumbing system 152. For example, similar to thewater usage information 310, the usage data 312 may include the date,time, and water used each time the electronic plumbing or other deviceis utilized. Additionally, the usage data 312 may store otherinformation such as the energy used or the supplies used each time thedevice is utilized (e.g., for a soap dispenser 208 or paper toweldispenser). The service information 314 may include information on theservice status of one or more EPF devices 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212in the plumbing system 152. For example, the service information 314 mayinclude an indication of the previous times a device was serviced, alongwith the types of service performed. The service information 314 mayalso include an indication of which services may be needed or whichservices are soon to be needed. For example, if certain EPF devices 202,204, 210 must be serviced every 20,000 gallons of water used, theservice information 314 may include an indication that service will beneeded soon if the device has used 18,000 gallons of water since itslast servicing. In the same example, the service information 314 mayinclude a service flag that the EPF device 202, 204, 210 needs serviceif the EPF device 202, 204, 210 has used more than 20,000 gallons ofwater since the last time it was serviced. The EPF device identification316 might include a unique identification (e.g., an identificationnumber) that identifies the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 thatcreated the EPF digital record 302. For example, each EPF device 114,202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may be configured with a unique identificationnumber and may append the unique identification number as an EPF deviceidentification 316 to the EPF digital record 302. The EPF devicelocation identification 318 may indicate the location or area, such asthe EPF area 220, that contains the EPF device 114 that created the EPFdigital record 302. For example, the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210,212 may include a GPS sensor that identifies the location of the EPFdevice 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 and the EPF location identification318 may include the location identified by the GPS sensor, or mayidentify an EPF area 220 associated with (e.g., containing) the locationidentified by the GPS sensor. In another example, the EPF device 114,202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may contain a location identification of the EPFarea 220 that the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 is associatedwith, or a stored indication of the location of the EPF device 114, 202,204, 208, 210, 212 and may include that in the EPF device locationidentification 318. The EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 mayreceive the location device from an initialization process where atechnician locates the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 (e.g., bylocating the device using a smartphone during setup or by the technicianmanually providing the EPF device location). In a further example, theEPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may receive the locationinformation from another nearby EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212that has already been provided a location identification. For example,if the electronic soap dispenser 212 is installed after the electronicfaucet 210 has already been initialized with a location identification,the electronic soap dispenser 212 may receive the EPF device locationidentification 318 from the electronic faucet 210. In a still furtherexample, a user device 206 may supplement the EPF digital record 302with the EPF device location identification 318 using a GPS sensor ofthe user device 206. In certain implementations of the above exampleimplementations of the EPF device location identification 318, the useror technician may be prompted to add floor information to the EPF devicelocation identification 318. For example, the EPF device 114, 202, 204,208, 210, 212 may be installed in a building with EPF areas 220 onmultiple floors. In such an example, GPS location alone may beinsufficient to identify which floor the user or technician is on andthe user or technician may be prompted to enter a floor in order toproperly implement the EPF device location identification 318.

The EPF digital record 302 may include multiple types of EPF information304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, as depicted, or may include only a singletype of EPF information. For example, some EPF digital records 302 mayonly include service information 314. For each type of information, theEPF digital record 302 may include more than one entry. For example, forusage information 312, the EPF digital record 302 may include one entryfor each time the associated plumbing device (e.g., the electronic watercloset flushometer 202) is used. Each entry may include a date and timeof use, and a measurement of the water used when the electronic watercloset flushometer was flushed. Similarly, the EPF battery level 304 mayinclude multiple entries reflecting a daily, hourly, or other frequencymeasurement of the battery level of the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208,210, 212. Also, each type of EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312,314 may only include information associated with the EPF device 114,202, 204, 208, 210, 212 that created the EPF digital record 302, or mayinclude EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314 measured by otherEPF devices 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 in communicative range of theEPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 that created the EPF digitalrecord 302. For example, the battery level 304 may also include thebattery level of other EPF devices in communicative range of the EPFdevice 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 that created the EPF digital record302.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of an example method 400 according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400, whenexecuted, may be used to upload EPF digital records 124, 302 from EPFdevices 114 to a host server 130, 216. The method 400 may also be usedto process and store the EPF digital records 124, 302 in an EPF database146. The method 400 may be implemented on a computer system, such as thesystem 100. For example, the method 400 may be implemented by one ormore of the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212, the user device102, the network 128, the host server 130, the EPF terminal 138, and theEPF database 146. The method 400 may also be implemented by a set ofinstructions stored on a computer readable medium that, when executed bya processor, cause the computer system to perform the method. Forexample, all or part of the method 400 may be implemented by the CPUs104, 116, 134, 140 and the memories 106, 122, 132, 142. Although theexamples below are described with reference to the flowchart illustratedin FIG. 4, many other methods of performing the acts associated withFIG. 4 may be used. For example, the order of some of the steps may bechanged, certain steps may be combined with other steps, one or more ofthe steps may be repeated, and some of the steps described may beoptional.

The method 400 begins with an EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212creating an EPF digital record 124, 302 (step 402). The EPF device maycreate the EPF digital record 124, 302 by measuring EPF information 304,306, 308, 310, 312 using a measuring device 118, 120 as described above.The method 400 may then proceed with the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208,210, 212 detecting a nearby user device 102, 206 (step 404). The EPFdevice 114 may detect the nearby user device 102, 206 by detecting awireless signal associated with the user device 102, 206. The detectedwireless signal may be generated by the communication interfaces 110,112 of the user device 102, 206 and may be detected by the communicationinterface 126 of the EPF device 114. When detecting the user device 102,206, the EPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may determine a devicetype for the user device 102, 206. For example, it may determine thatthe user device 102, 206 is a smartphone, fitness tracker, smartwatch,or other smart wearable. Once the user device is detected, the method400 may proceed with the EPF device 114 determining whether the userdevice 102, 206 is enrolled in receiving EPF digital records 124, 302.As discussed above, a user device 102, 206 may enroll in receivinghealth data by installing a health app 108. The user device 102, 206 mayalso enroll by granting permission to receive and transmit EPF digitalrecords 124, 302 without using a health app. If the user device 102, 206is not enrolled, the method 400 may proceed to enroll the user device(step 408). The user device 102, 206 may be enrolled by installing ahealth app 108 compatible with the health records, or by providing theuser device 102, 206 with a prompt to enroll the device by grantingpermission to receive and transmit EPF digital records 124, 302. If theuser device 102, 206 is enrolled or after enrolling the user device 102,206, the method 400 may proceed with the EPF device 114 transmitting theEPF digital record 124, 302 to the user device 102, 206 (step 412). TheEPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 may transmit the EPF digitalrecord 124, 302 to the user over a wireless communication interface,such as the first wireless communication interface 110 and thecommunication interface 126. In some embodiments, the method 400 mayalso detect health data (step 410) and transmit the health data with theEPF digital record 124. For example, in some embodiments certain EPFdata such as whether a hand dryer was used may not be included in theEPF digital record 124, 302. However, this may be useful as health databecause it provides further inferences as to whether the user washedtheir hands. Thus, in such an embodiment, health data indicating use ofthe electronic hand dryer 208 may be transmitted to the user device 102,206 with the EPF digital record 124, 302. Additionally, prior totransmitting the EPF digital record 124, 302, the EPF device 114 maydetect additional EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312 associatedwith the user before transmitting the EPF digital record 124, 302. Forexample, the user may trigger a plumbing or other device 202, 204, 208,210, 212 by using the electronic water closet flushometer 202 or washingtheir hands in the electronic faucet 210 after their user device isdetected. EPF information 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314 related to theseactivities may be collected and added to the EPF digital record 124, 302before the EPF digital record 124, 302 is transmitted to the user device102, 206. In this way, the EPF device 114 can ensure that the mostupdated information is included and can ensure that the most datapossible is available to the health app 108. The EPF device 114 may alsorepeatedly update and transmit the EPF digital record 124, 302 with EPFinformation 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314 created while the user device206 is in the EPF area 220 for similar reasons.

After receiving the health data, the health app 108 may process the data(step 424) and present a health alert (step 426) as described above. Thehealth app 108 may be presented after local processing on the userdevice 102, 206, or after remote processing on a host server 130, 216.For example, based on the health data and the EPF digital record 124,302, the health app 108 may determine that the user used the restroombut did not wash their hands in accordance with the requirements of aproscribed handwashing protocol. After determining this, the health app108 could present a health alert encouraging the user to wash theirhands or to wash their hands again in compliance with a handwashingprotocol. Alternatively, the health app 108 could present a health alertacknowledging that the health app 108 has successfully detected acompleted hand washing event. The health alert could include a visual,tactile, or audible acknowledgement of the successfully recordedhandwashing event. The health alert may be presented by the user device102, 206 or may be presented by another device such as the EPF device114. For example, after a user successfully washes their hands, theirsmartphone may vibrate and present a push notification indicating thatthe hand washing event was successfully recorded, such as the pushnotification 504 of the user device 502 depicted in FIG. 5. In anotherexample, after a user successfully washes their hands, an LED or othervisual indicator on an EPF-equipped faucet may light up and/or play anoise to indicate that the hand washing event was successfully recordedwithin the health app 108. The health alert may also be presented at aremote device, such as the EPF terminal 138, 218. Although depicted aspart of the method 400, certain embodiments of the method 400 mayexclude the health app 108 and the associated steps at steps 410, 424,and 426. Such embodiments are expressly contemplated in this disclosure.

After transmitting the EPF digital record 124, 302 to the user device102, 206 (step 412), the method 400 may then proceed with the userdevice 102, 206 determining whether the user device 102, 206 has leftthe area, such as the EPF area 220. This may be useful because furthertransmission of the EPF digital record 124, 302 may not be possibleuntil the user device 102, 206 has left. For example, if the EPF device114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212 is located in an area with limited Wi-Fi,cellular, or other network coverage, the user device 102, 206 may haveto leave the area before attempting to transmit the EPF digital record124, 302. The user device 102, 206 may determine that the user device102, 206 has left the EPF area 220 by measuring the strength of thewireless communication signal between the user device 102, 206 and theEPF device 114, 202, 204, 208, 210, 212. For example, the user device102, 206 may determine that it has left the EPF area 220 when thewireless communication signal strength drops below a certain thresholdor goes away. In certain instances, the user device 102, 206 determinesthat it has left the EPF area 220 before the transmission of EPF digitalrecord 124, 302 has been initiated or completed and may correspondinglystop the transmission from beginning or create an indication that theEPF digital record 124, 302 has only been partially received. In otherembodiments, the user device 102, 206 may determine its location whilein the EPF area 220 using a location sensor such as a GPS sensor or byusing cellular service location signals. The user device 102, 206 maydetermine it has left the EPF area when its location has changed by acertain threshold. In certain embodiments, the user device 102, 206 mayaugment the EPF digital record 124, 302 with similar location data.

In some embodiments, however, it may not be necessary for the userdevice 102, 206 to leave the EPF area 220. For example, the user device102, 206 may be able to connect to a network 128, 214 while still withinthe EPF area 220. For example, the user device 102, 206 may be able toconnect to the network 128, 214 using a second wireless means 112 suchas a cellular network or a Wi-Fi connection. Thus, some embodiments ofthe method 400 may omit step 414.

The method 400 may then proceed with the user device 102, 206transmitting the EPF digital record 124, 302 to the host server 130, 216(step 416). The digital record 124, 302 may be transmitted to the hostserver 130, 216 over a network 128, 214 such as the Internet. In someembodiments, the digital records 124, 302 may be transmitted to the hostserver 130, 216 along with the health data in order to enable steps 424,426 to be performed remotely on the host server 130, 216. For example,the health data may be transmitted to the host server 130, 216 with thedigital records 124, 302. The host server 130, 216 may then perform thesteps of steps 424, 426 as described above, or it may extract the healthdata and forward the health data to a health data server that performsthe steps of steps 424, 426. In another example, the user device 102,206 may separately transmit the health data to a health data server forprocessing as described above and may also separately transmit the EPFdigital record 124, 302 to the host server. In a further embodiment, theuser device 102, 206 may transmit both the health data and the EPFdigital record 124, 302 to a health data server and the health dataserver may then transmit the EPF digital record 124, 302 to the hostserver 130, 216.

In other embodiments, the digital records 124, 302 may be separated fromany health data transmitted by the EPF device 114 so that the userdevice 102, 206 only uploads the EPF digital record 124, 302. Forexample, the EPF digital record 124, 302 transmission may includepackets that are encoded differently than the packets included in thehealth data transmission. When the user device 102, 206 receives thepackets encoded for the EPF digital record 124, 302, it may separatethese from the packets associated with the health data transmissionpackets. The user device 102, 206 may then only upload the packetsencoded for the EPF digital record 124, 302. After receiving the EPFdigital record 124, 302, the host server 130, 216 may remove anyduplicates and resolve conflicts within the EPF digital record 124, 302(step 418). The host server 130, 216 may compare the EPF digital record124, 302 to other EPF digital records 148, 150 stored in an EPF database146 to identify duplicates or conflicts present in the EPF digitalrecord 124, 302. For example, each entry in the EPF digital record 124,302 may include a unique identifier. The EPF host server 130, 216 maycompare the unique identifier with the unique identifiers within the EPFdigital records 148, 150 stored on the EPF database 146. If the uniqueidentifier of an entry in the EPF digital record 124, 302 received fromthe user device 102, 206 matches the unique identifier within the EPFdigital records 148, 150 stored on the EPF database 146, the associatedentry may be removed from the EPF digital record 124, 302 as aduplicate.

Once the duplicates and conflicts are removed and resolved, the method400 may proceed with the host server 130, 216 adding the EPF digitalrecord 124, 302 to the EPF database 146 (step 420) and displayinginformation relating to the EPF digital record 124, 302 on an EPFdashboard 144 (step 422). The EPF dashboard 144 may be configured todisplay a user interface presenting statistics pertaining to waterusage, fitting usage, consumable usage, maintenance information, andservice information as discussed above in connection with EPF terminal218, and may be implemented by an EPF terminal 138, 218.

All of the disclosed methods and procedures described in this disclosurecan be implemented using one or more computer programs or components.These components may be provided as a series of computer instructions onany conventional computer readable medium or machine readable medium,including volatile and non-volatile memory, such as RAM, ROM, flashmemory, magnetic or optical disks, optical memory, or other storagemedia. The instructions may be provided as software or firmware, and maybe implemented in whole or in part in hardware components such as ASICs,FPGAs, DSPs, or any other similar devices. The instructions may beconfigured to be executed by one or more processors, which whenexecuting the series of computer instructions, performs or facilitatesthe performance of all or part of the disclosed methods and procedures.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to theexamples described here will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishingits intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes andmodifications be covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: recording, by a measuringdevice of an electronic plumbing fixture (EPF), EPF information; storingthe EPF information in an EPF digital record; detecting a user deviceconfigured to transmit the EPF digital record to a host server;performing, based on the detecting the user device, a handshake with theuser device; and transmitting, in response to completing the handshake,the EPF digital record to the user device along with routing informationto enable the user device to transmit the EPF digital record to the hostserver.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the host server is furtherconfigured to merge the EPF digital record into an EPF database by:identifying duplicated portions of the EPF digital record, wherein theduplicated portions are portions of the EPF digital record alreadypresent in the EPF database; removing the duplicated portions from theEPF digital record prior to merging the EPF digital record into the EPFdatabase; identifying conflicting portions of the EPF digital record,wherein the conflicting portions are portions of the EPF digital recordthat conflict with data already present in the EPF database; andresolving any conflict between the conflicting portions and the dataalready present in the EPF database.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe EPF information comprises at least one of: a battery level of theEPF, a cycle count for the EPF, a maintenance level for the EPF, usagedata for the EPF, a water usage information for the EPF, or serviceinformation for the EPF.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting to the user device and with the EPF digital record, userhealth data, wherein the user device is configured to extract the userhealth data from the EPF digital record prior to transmitting the EPFdigital record to the host server.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theEPF is located in an area with limited internet connectivity and theuser device is configured to transmit the EPF digital record to the hostserver after leaving the area with limited internet connectivity.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the EPF further comprises at least one of: anelectronic faucet, an electronic flushometer, an electronic pipefitting, an electronic flow measurement device, an electronic watercloset flushometer, an electronic urinal flushometer, an electronic soapdispenser, an electronic paper towel dispenser, or an electronic handdryer.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device comprises atleast one of: a mobile phone, smart watch, fitness tracker, laptop, or apersonal computing device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a locationof the EPF is determined based on the location of the user device.
 9. Auser device comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to storeinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user deviceto: perform a handshake with an electronic plumbing fixture (EPF);receive, from the EPF and based on completing the handshake, an EPFdigital record, wherein the EPF digital record comprises routinginformation indicating a host server; and transmit, to the host serverand based on the routing information, the EPF digital record.
 10. Theuser device of claim 9, wherein the EPF digital record comprises atleast one of: a battery level of the EPF, a cycle count for the EPF, amaintenance level for the EPF, usage data for the EPF, a water usageinformation for the EPF, or service information for the EPF.
 11. Theuser device of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by theprocessor, cause the user device to extract user health data from theEPF digital record prior to transmitting the EPF digital record to thehost server.
 12. The user device of claim 11, wherein the instructions,when executed by the processor, cause the user device to display ahealth alert based on the user health data from the EPF digital record.13. The user device of claim 9, wherein the EPF further comprises atleast one of: an electronic faucet, an electronic flushometer, anelectronic pipe fitting, an electronic flow measurement device, anelectronic water closet flushometer, an electronic urinal flushometer,an electronic soap dispenser, an electronic paper towel dispenser, or anelectronic hand dryer.
 14. The user device of claim 9, wherein the userdevice comprises at least one of: a mobile phone, smart watch, fitnesstracker, laptop, or a personal computing device.
 15. A methodcomprising: performing, by a user device, a handshake with an electronicplumbing fixture (EPF); receiving, from the EPF and based on completingthe handshake, an EPF digital record, wherein the EPF digital recordcomprises routing information indicating a host server; andtransmitting, to the host server and based on the routing information,the EPF digital record.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the EPFdigital record comprises at least one of: a battery level of the EPF, acycle count for the EPF, a maintenance level for the EPF, usage data forthe EPF, a water usage information for the EPF, or service informationfor the EPF.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising extractinguser health data from the EPF digital record prior to transmitting theEPF digital record to the host server.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising causing a health alert to be displayed based on theuser health data from the EPF digital record.
 19. The method of claim15, wherein the EPF further comprises at least one of: an electronicfaucet, an electronic flushometer, an electronic pipe fitting, anelectronic flow measurement device, an electronic water closetflushometer, an electronic urinal flushometer, an electronic soapdispenser, an electronic paper towel dispenser, or an electronic handdryer.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the user device comprises atleast one of: a mobile phone, smart watch, fitness tracker, laptop, or apersonal computing device.